A Twist in the Tail
by EverAfterGirl
Summary: What if Evie hadn't interfered with the spell in 2x01 and it instead left Zac stuck as a merman? / Parent reveal fic. Oneshot for now.


**I've been watching Mako Mermaids and was inspired. Please R &R**

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The swirling green of the mermaid's magic encased him, blurring his view of the moon pool and cave. The strangers were nothing more than a hazy mix of colors in the distance, and the more he tried to look past the magic, the more dizzy he felt.

Then, without warning, the magic snapped inward. It hit him at full force, knocking the air out of his lungs. Reeling from the impact, he temporarily slipped beneath the surface of the water. When he recovered his balance enough to reemerge, he saw the girls shoot him a smirk before ducking out of the cave.

What exactly had they done? He quickly ran his hand over his face, torso and tail and found nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever the intention of the spell had been, it didn't seem to be anything external. He wasn't sure if that was cause for relief or for worry.

The dizziness was still present, however, so he wrapped an arm over the ledge of the pool to steady himself. He leaned his head back, taking long slow breaths as he tried to calm himself. His encounter with these new mermaids had been stressful to the point of exhaustion.

Just as he was beginning to relax, he felt a disturbance in the water. Were the girls back? His shoulders tensed in anticipation.

Yet, his fears were short lived as Evie broke the surface, gasping for air and kicking violently in the water around her as she spun to face him.

"Zac!" She exclaimed, relief clear on her face. She swam over to him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Her voice came out breathless as she muttered, "Thank God, I was so worried."

After a moment, he had recovered enough to return the hug, pulling her close to him. He didn't know what to say so he settled for running a reassuring hand up and down her back.

"What happened?" Evie demanded, pulling back and searching his face for answers.

He recounted the mermaids and their spell to the best of his ability, glossing over the dizziness and leaving out all mentions of the suspicious smirks they'd shot him before leaving.

"So whatever it was," he finished with a smile, "They must have failed."

Evie grinned back, nodding her agreement. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thank you for worrying about me," he said in response. "I can't believe you came all the way here. How'd you even find the moon pool?"

"Cam."

"That explains it."

"Speaking of which," she said. "We probably should let him know that you're okay."

Zac nodded his agreement. "Yeah, let's get out of here." With that, he held out a hand to his girlfriend. She grasped it without hesitation and took a deep breath before plunging under the surface of the water.

Zac took that as his cue and dove under, pulling her alongside him. It was surreal to swim beside her for the first time in months. Now that Evie was in on the secret, life had improved exponentially. He felt like a weight had been lifted from shoulders.

Hyper-aware of her need to reach the surface fast, he sped through the final stretch of the cave and up to where Cam's boat waited. She coughed, taking quick short breaths as she recovered from the temporary lack of air.

Cam met Zac's eyes and the two exchanged a tense nod. While their friendship was still in rocky waters, it was clear Cam was relieved that Zac was alright. A recent fight wasn't quite enough to sever that many years of friendship, no matter how severe the argument.

Evie kicked her way over to the boat, splashing Zac in the face as she did. He laughed quietly before swimming after her. Before she could climb aboard the boat, he tapped her on the shoulder. She looked over, confusion across her features.

He tilted her head up and kissed her. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. That was very brave of you."

Cam made a retching sound from the boat before extending a hand to help Evie. The boat shook as she clambered over the side and she almost lost her balance. Zac steadied it before it could dip too far to either side.

"Want a lift?" Cam asked, more out of habit than anything else.

Zac shook his head. "'I'll swim, thanks."

"I'll stop by tomorrow morning!" Evie called over the engine as it roared to life.

Zac gave her a final wave before slipping back into the ocean.

He took his time swimming home, using it as an excuse to clear his head. The night had gone better than he'd expected despite a few stressful moments and now he was looking forward to a good night's sleep.

When he reached his family's dock, he surfaced. Looking around, he was pleased to note that none of his neighbors were outside and the lights appeared to be off at the nearest houses. Feeling confident that he would not be seen, he lifted himself onto the edge of the dock.

It was a serious strain on his muscles after a long day, so once he was out of the water he stopped to rest. His tail dangled over the side, fluke brushing the top of the waves. It was peaceful, sitting outside of his home under the stars.

The moment was short-lived, however, as he heard footsteps quickly approaching. Terror latched onto his heart as he realized there was no time to dry off, and leaping into the water would draw even more unwanted attention. He hoped it was Cam or Evie or even one of the mermaids.

When he shot a look over his shoulder, his stomach dropped. His parents stood mere feet away and from the looks on their faces, they'd seen the tail.

"Zac…" His mother's voice trailed off as she hesitantly moved towards him. He braced himself to jump if needed.

"Yeah, mom?" It felt stupid, answering as if nothing was wrong when such a huge secret lay unaddressed, but habit forced the words from his lips.

She was beside him now, his father a shadow behind her. She crouched down beside him for a moment before settling into a seated position. After a moment, his father did the same on his other side.

There they sat, on the edge of the dock, as silent seconds turned into silent minutes.

Finally, Dr. Blakely spoke. "You have a tail."

It wasn't framed as a question, yet there was no denying the confusion in his voice. Zac wished he could be anywhere else.

"Uhh...yeah."

"How?" His mother asked, eyes locked on the scales.

He squirmed under the weight of her gaze before offering a quick summary of his experience on Mako Island. His parents listed silently, not interrupting or commenting as he spoke. Their behavior made him even more uncomfortable. He wished they'd scream or deny it something. Instead, they sat beside him, nearly immobile. The weight of what they must be thinking was crushing to consider.

"May I?" His mother asked, hand hovering over the scales.

"Sure."

She brushed her fingers over the tail, letting out a startled sound as she did. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "it feels just like a fish!"

It. The word choice echoed through his head, and he felt shame sweep through him in response. Had his powers had stripped him of his status as a person in their eyes?

His father must have seen the look on his face because rather than testing the feel of the scales himself, he placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "Zac, why didn't you tell us?"

"I was scared," he admitted. The air was beginning to cool down outside and he found himself shivering as the wind blew by. He needed to dry out so they could move the conversation inside. With that in mind, he began dragging himself backward inch by inch until his entire tail was stretched across the dock. "This isn't something people are just okay with."

"We're not 'people,'" reminded his mom. "We're your parents. I'll admit, this is a lot more than either of us knows how to deal with, but we'll get through it. As a family."

At those words, Zac managed a weak smile. His parents returned it, although the tension had not completely left their shoulders. He reasoned that he couldn't blame them. Finding out one's son was half fish was sure to make an impact.

As his parents swung their legs onto the dock to stand up, his dad's sandal grazed the fluke of his tail. On reflex, he twitched it away with a grimace. The movement bent it at an angle that legs could not achieve, further cementing the reality of the situation.

His parents had jumped at the movement, as if they still couldn't fully comprehend that the tail was real, alive and part of their son.

"Sorry, Zac." His father apologized, carefully avoiding contact with the tail on his next steps.

All he could manage in response was a half-hearted, "no worries!"

He was worried, however, that he hadn't gotten his legs back yet. He was mostly dry and after wiping the final bit of water from the end of the fluke, he waited expectantly. His parents were eyeing him with concern as his expression shifted to panic.

"Something's wrong. I should be changing back now."

They waited on the dock for a half hour before confirming that Zac's legs were not about to make a reappearance. He wondered if whatever the mermaids had done was responsible for this new problem. If he had to hazard a guess, he'd think it was a pretty safe bet.

Eventually, he voiced his fears to his parents. "It looks like I'm stuck like this for now."

It was late and he could see the exhaustion on their faces and the strain of the revelation on them. He encouraged them to go inside and sleep, saying that he'd swim to Mako and sleep in the moon pool.

His parents were not keen on the idea, instead insisting that they carry him up to the house. After a failed attempt, his father returned with a wheelbarrow. The wheels made the task easier and soon they were outside the door to his room.

He stopped them before they opened it, embarrassment once more causing his face to flush. He'd noticed that the longer he was out of the water, the more his skin itched and hurt. He suggested they leave him in the pool for the night and try to sort things out in the morning.

Reluctantly, they agreed and called it a night.


End file.
